Shinhan Bets Korean Won on Solana: Tokenized Fund Targets Dollar-Dominated RWA Market

Shinhan Asset Management signed a four-party memorandum of understanding on Aug. 21 to test a Korean won tokenized fund on the Solana blockchain, according to crypto.news. The agreement brings together Shinhan, the Solana Foundation, tokenization platform Etherfuse and decentralized exchange Orca for a proof of concept covering issuance and distribution. The planned product would invest in short-term Korean won bonds and target overseas institutional investors, but the participants have not announced the fund's size, expected yield or public launch date. Solana said the existing tokenized real-world asset market was worth about $36 billion, and the announcement cited a Boston Consulting Group projection that the sector could reach as much as $30 trillion.

Background

South Korea's National Assembly passed amendments supporting tokenized securities on Jan. 15, crypto.news reported. The legislation recognizes distributed ledgers as valid securities registries and permits qualifying investment contract securities to circulate through licensed securities companies. The Financial Services Commission said issuers will still need to satisfy existing securities registration and disclosure obligations, and unlicensed companies will not be allowed to broker tokenized securities. The amendments are expected to take effect one year after their promulgation, with implementation anticipated in early 2027. Regulators are preparing account management infrastructure and investor protection rules before the rollout, according to the FSC's official statement. South Korean authorities are also preparing rules for stocks, bonds and funds alongside a blockchain platform operated for the Korea Securities Depository, crypto.news reported. Against that backdrop, Shinhan has been testing more than one blockchain. On Aug. 14, the asset manager signed a separate agreement with Plume to develop a demonstration for a won-denominated tokenized fund. The parallel projects suggest Shinhan is examining different technical and distribution models rather than committing exclusively to Solana, according to crypto.news. The Solana Foundation said the model draws from BlackRock's BUIDL fund, one of the largest tokenized money market products, referring to the blockchain-based distribution model rather than the assets or legal rights.

What happened

According to crypto.news, Shinhan Asset Management signed a four-party memorandum on Aug. 21 to test a Korean won tokenized fund using the Solana blockchain. The agreement brings together Shinhan Asset Management, the Solana Foundation, tokenization platform Etherfuse and decentralized exchange Orca. The participants will conduct a proof of concept covering the fund's issuance and distribution process. The planned product would invest in short-term Korean won bonds and target overseas institutional investors. However, the participants have not announced the fund's size, expected yield or public launch date. The proof of concept will examine the steps needed to issue and distribute a regulated tokenized fund, including know-your-customer checks, anti-money laundering controls, token issuance and onchain liquidity arrangements. Shinhan will provide asset management and regulatory expertise. Etherfuse will supply infrastructure for creating and managing the tokenized assets. Orca will help design the liquidity system used to distribute or exchange the fund tokens on Solana. The Solana Foundation said the model draws from BlackRock's BUIDL fund, one of the largest tokenized money market products; the comparison refers to the blockchain-based distribution model and does not mean the proposed Shinhan fund will hold the same assets or offer the same legal rights. BlackRock's product primarily invests in U.S. Treasury bills, cash and repurchase agreements, while Shinhan's test concerns a Korean won product backed by short-term domestic bonds. Solana offers low transaction fees and rapid settlement, which could support frequent subscriptions, redemptions and transfers, though those technical features do not remove securities registration, custody or investor protection requirements. The network has already attracted other Asian asset managers: SBI Global Asset Management launched a tokenized Japanese equity fund on Solana in July, targeting institutional and accredited investors through regulated tokenization platform DigiFT, crypto.news previously reported.

Market impact

The sources provide limited market figures. Solana said the existing tokenized real-world asset market was worth about $36 billion, and the announcement cited a Boston Consulting Group projection suggesting the sector could reach as much as $30 trillion. The sources do not give the size, expected yield or launch date of the planned Shinhan fund, and they do not report any prices, trading volumes or fund flows connected to the announcement. The only other product-level detail is that BlackRock's BUIDL fund is described as one of the largest tokenized money market products, primarily investing in U.S. Treasury bills, cash and repurchase agreements. On the regulatory side, the sources describe the Jan. 15 amendments as recognizing distributed ledgers as valid securities registries and permitting qualifying investment contract securities to circulate through licensed securities companies, with implementation anticipated in early 2027. No numerical market reaction to the Aug. 21 memorandum is reported in the sources.

Why it matters

The sources support several consequences. First, the test places a major Korean asset manager on a public blockchain for a regulated fund structure, with Shinhan providing asset management and regulatory expertise and Etherfuse and Orca supplying tokenization and liquidity infrastructure. Second, the product is designed for overseas institutional investors and would invest in short-term Korean won bonds, which the sources frame as a won-denominated alternative in a tokenized real-world asset market that Solana said was worth about $36 billion. Third, the proof of concept is explicitly about process: know-your-customer checks, anti-money laundering controls, token issuance and onchain liquidity arrangements, which the sources say are needed to issue and distribute a regulated tokenized fund. Fourth, the sources note that Solana's low fees and rapid settlement do not remove securities registration, custody or investor protection requirements. Fifth, Shinhan's separate Aug. 14 agreement with Plume suggests the manager is comparing models rather than committing exclusively to Solana, and the sources say results from the tests could determine which infrastructure the manager uses after South Korea's regulatory framework becomes effective, with implementation anticipated in early 2027.